Sydney Harbour Cruises

Humpbacks pass Sydney from mid-May, heading north, with the peak in late June and July. From August to November they come back south, and in October and November you often see mothers with calves travelling slowly and close to shore. Outside roughly May to November there is nothing to see, and no operator can change that.

Both work. Trains run from Sydney Central to Katoomba in about two hours, roughly hourly, and the Three Sisters lookout is a short bus ride from the station. A coach tour makes sense if you want Scenic World, a wildlife park and lunch handled in one day — that day runs about ten hours door to door.

Not in the wild, no. Kangaroos do not come into the city, and the koalas you can reliably see are in Taronga Zoo, the SEA LIFE complex at Darling Harbour or the wildlife parks out west. To see either animal in the open you need a day trip that leaves the city — several of ours go looking for wild kangaroos and wombats.

For the city, no, and we would advise against it: parking is expensive and both the Harbour Bridge and the Harbour Tunnel are tolled. Trains, buses and ferries on an Opal card reach everything on this site. A rental car earns its keep only for the country trips — Hunter Valley, Port Stephens, the South Coast.

Timed-entry tickets such as the Opera House tour and BridgeClimb sell out for popular slots a few days ahead, more in the December–February school holidays. Day tours to the Blue Mountains have more capacity. Since almost everything cancels free up to 24 hours before, booking early costs you nothing.

No, not as a day trip. The reef starts off the Queensland coast, and Cairns — the usual gateway — is 1,955 km away, about a three-hour flight. Anything sold in Sydney as a reef trip is a flight and at least one overnight stay. For snorkelling on the day, Sydney has its own spots at Manly and Shelly Beach.